Best wishes to community champion
Aget-well-soon message to everybody’s favourite market coordinator Laurel Burnham. The no-BS, tellit-like-it-is Penticton resident is battling cancer, forcing her to resign from her many projects which include the dragonboat festival vendors, Okanagan Makers holiday craft show and markets in Naramata and Summerland.
“I’m done,” she said in an interview for today’s Page 1 story. “The universe is giving me a clear kick in the ass.”
Reflecting on her career, she said her favourite moments were with the Downtown Penticton Association markets — “in the early years, we received national recognition, those were pretty special times.”
On the importance of community markets, Burnham said, “People need to have the relationship between themselves and people who are making, growing and producing. With our world, people want to support each other.”
Burnham said she has wonderful support, describing her husband Daryl O’Neill as “a fabulous nurse.” She also praises the team at the hospital, palliative care and home support — “an army of young professionals, who are looking after our aging people and I’m very grateful because none of this costs anything.”
Laurel, we’re all cheering for you!
Who would have thought? Tony Sloboda is retiring at the end of this month after more than 30 years of sales at Parker’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Penticton. Good luck Tony.
The Calgary Zoo is hoping the stork will bring some baby pandas to parents Er Shun and Da Mao, however, artificial insemination will be required as the two are not compatible. Bummer. Maybe they should grow some Spanish Fly in the panda cage. If all else fails, try playing the pandas Whitney Houston’s first album ... that should do the trick. No panda bear can resist the smooth sounds of “Saving All My Love For You” or “You Give Good Love.”
If the City of Penticton decides to cough up the money for Canada Day, they should consider moving the event to Skaha Lake Park. The only major event that goes on there is the Peach Festival sandcastle contest, which is only for a couple of hours.
Ever since the famed Mr. Muscle and Miss Bikini contest was shelved, there’s not a major festival at that end of the city. Canada Day would be perfect.
A reader in Penticton stopped and asked me last week where the designated smoking area will be in the soon-to-be-opened patient care tower at Penticton Regional Hospital.
As a non-smoker, I had no clue but promised to find out.
Interior Health replied with a detailed response. In a nutshell — there won’t be one as smoking is prohibited on all hospital property. Patients who are having withdrawal issues are able to seek assistance. From the bad joke file: Why did the cookie need to go and see a doctor? Because he was feeling crummy. James Miller is managing editor of The Kelowna Daily Courier and valley editor/director of content for Okanagan Newspaper Group. To contact the writer, email him at: james.miller@ok.bc.ca.